moon

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After Sideways Landing, Private Moon Lander to Shut Down

Odysseus, a private US spacecraft, will cease operations on Tuesday

(Newser) - Odysseus made it to the moon in historic fashion, but the private lunar lander will shut down for good on Tuesday because of a bumpy landing that left it toppled over on its side. As the AP reports, that's "two to three days" earlier than expected. Details:
  • The
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'After Several Tense Days,' Moon Lander Is Alive Again

Following a rough landing, Japan's SLIM finally draws enough solar power to function once more

(Newser) - A Japanese moon explorer is up and running Monday after several tense days without the sunlight it needs to generate power. Japan's first lunar mission hit its target in a precision touchdown on Jan. 20, but it landed the wrong way up , leaving its solar panels unable to see...

Photo Explains Why Japan's Moon Lander Isn't Talking

It landed upside down, and its solar panels aren't getting juice from the sun

(Newser) - The good news is that Japan landed a spacecraft on the moon , making it only the fifth nation to accomplish the feat. The bad news is that the SLIM craft landed upside down, on its nose, reports Space.com . The glitch explains why mission controllers in Japan have been unable...

Japan's 'Moon Sniper' Nears Its Target
A 5th Country Has
Landed on the Moon
UPDATED

A 5th Country Has Landed on the Moon

Japan's 'Moon Sniper' is sending back data but solar cells aren't working, JAXA says

(Newser) - This story has been updated with new developments. Japan has become the fifth country to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon. The country's space agency, JAXA, says Smart Lander for Investigating Moon—SLIM—has landed on the moon and is sending back data, though its solar panel isn'...

Moon Lander—and Its Human Remains—to Burn
Doomed Lunar
Lander Meets
Its End
UPDATED

Doomed Lunar Lander Meets Its End

Astrobotic's Peregrine burns up reentering Earth's atmosphere, along with human remains

(Newser) - The doomed Peregrine moon lander burned up in Earth's atmosphere over a remote stretch of the South Pacific on Thursday, as planned after the spacecraft suffered a malfunction that left it unable to reach the moon. "We commend @Astrobotic for their perseverance," NASA said in a statement...

After Leak, Spacecraft Has 'No Chance' of Landing on Moon

'Space is hard,' NASA says

(Newser) - Astrobotic Technology says there's no longer any hope of its Peregrine probe landing on the moon. In an update posted on X Tuesday, the Pittsburgh-based company said that due to a fuel leak detected hours after liftoff Monday, "there is, unfortunately, no chance of a soft landing on...

'We Are on Our Way to the Moon!'
Historic Moon Mission
Might Be in Peril
UPDATED

Historic Moon Mission Might Be in Peril

Private company's spacecraft develops fuel leak en route to first landing in more than 50 years

(Newser) - Updated throughout. The first US moon landing in more than 50 years was in jeopardy Monday after a private company's newly launched spacecraft developed a "critical" fuel leak. Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology raced to orient its lander toward the sun so the solar panel could collect sunlight, as battery...

First US Moon Landing in 50 Years Is Near

Two private companies are racing to get there first next month

(Newser) - India scored a moon landing last year, and Japan hopes to do the same next month. Now two private companies are hustling to get the US back in the lunar game, more than five decades after the Apollo program ended. As the AP explains, it's all part of a...

Freezing Coral May Be Ticket to Saving Reefs

And researchers are looking into storing them on the moon

(Newser) - The future isn't looking great for corals as the marine invertebrates face rising ocean temperatures, disease, acidic water, and pollution. But MIT Technology Review reports that there's new hope in preserving them, which can bolster and revive future reefs. Researchers have been perfecting methods of cryopreserving coral, a...

Of Human Remains Headed to Moon, Navajo Say No

Navajo Nation wants commercial mission to deposit remains of US presidents, others halted

(Newser) - A space mission that will deposit a whole lot of human remains on the moon appears to be moving forward despite the Navajo Nation's objections. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren sent a letter to NASA and the US Department of Transportation last month, requesting the mission be postponed from...

NASA Releases 'Stunning' Images of a Jupiter Moon

It's been more than 20 years since we got this close to the volcanic Io

(Newser) - A NASA spacecraft paid a rare visit to an old friend over the holiday weekend—the volcanic Jupiter moon of Io, reports NPR . The Juno craft made a close flyby, at just under 1,000 miles, for the first time in 20 years and captured new photos that NASA is...

Trip to Moon to Include International Astronaut

NASA plan calls for mission to take place this decade

(Newser) - An international astronaut will join US astronauts on the moon by decade's end under an agreement announced Wednesday by NASA and the White House. The news came as Vice President Kamala Harris convened a meeting in Washington of the National Space Council, the third such gathering under the Biden...

NASA's Surprise Find: This Asteroid's 'Dinky Sidekick'

Lucy spacecraft discovers 'mini moon' during flyby of Dinkinesh space hunk

(Newser) - The little asteroid visited by NASA's Lucy spacecraft this week had a big surprise for scientists. It turns out that the asteroid Dinkinesh has a dinky sidekick—a mini moon. The discovery was made during Wednesday's flyby of Dinkinesh, 300 million miles away in the main asteroid belt...

This Is How Roads Could Be Built on the Moon
This Is How Roads Could
Be Built on the Moon
NEW STUDY

This Is How Roads Could Be Built on the Moon

Researchers suggest manipulating solar rays to melt moon dust into smooth 'tiles'

(Newser) - Building roads on the moon will not be like building roads on Earth. Since the moon has no atmosphere and lower gravity compared to our planet, dust is a big problem. It gets everywhere, "erodes space suits, clogs machinery, interferes with scientific instruments and makes moving around difficult,"...

This Year's Harvest Moon Will Be Spectacular

It's the last supermoon of the year

(Newser) - This has been a banner year for moon-watchers, and there are four full moons still to go, including the last supermoon of the year. The harvest moon, the last of four supermoons in a row, will appear full Thursday evening and reach its peak around 6am ET on Friday, NPR...

India Can't Rouse Its Moon Lander
India Can't Rouse
Its Moon Rover

India Can't Rouse Its Moon Rover

Lander and rover are dormant at the frigid south pole after a 2-week nap

(Newser) - India's mission to the moon can already be counted as a historic success, but this might put a damper on how it ends: The nation's space agency can't rouse its lunar lander or lunar rover after a two-week nap, reports New Scientist . The machines deliberately went into...

Moonquakes Traced to a Human-Made Source
Moonquakes
Traced to a
Human-Made
Source
NEW STUDY

Moonquakes Traced to a Human-Made Source

Apollo 17 lunar module base 'starts popping off' every lunar morning as it warms, researchers find

(Newser) - Sensors placed on the lunar surface during the Apollo 17 mission listened for vibrations over a period of several months and helped establish four types of moonquakes: those triggered by meteorite impacts; shallow quakes, possibly triggered by shrinkage due to a cooling interior ; deep quakes, tidal in origin ; and thermal...

There's a Celestial Event Tonight You Won't See Again Till 2037

August gets itself a super blue moon, which doesn't come around all the time

(Newser) - If you're midway through another boring Wednesday, here's how to jazz things up: Go outside tonight and gawk at a celestial sight that won't be seen again for another 14 years. As Space.com reports, a pretty rare super blue moon will be dangling in the skies...

India's Lunar Rover Keeps Doing Its Moon Walk

No glitches so far after historic touch-down earlier this week

(Newser) - India's lunar rover continued its walk on the moon Friday after the historic touch-down of India's spacecraft near the moon's south pole earlier this week, the country's space agency said. The rover's data collection and experiments could help determine if there is oxygen and hydrogen...

Russia's First Moon Mission in Decades Ends in a Crash

Luna-25 lander rams into the moon while preparing to land

(Newser) - Russia's first attempt to return to the moon since 1976 has ended in an explosion. The nation's Luna-25 lander spun out of control while preparing to land and rammed into the moon's surface, reports CNN . "The apparatus moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist...

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